California welcomed another station to its growing hydrogen refueling network, further bolstering the state’s global leadership in the adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) as part of its broader strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.

The new station, now open at 1200 Fair Oaks Avenue, South Pasadena, provides Californians with the fueling options they need to consider replacing their petroleum-fueled cars with hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.

With transportation responsible for nearly 40 percent of California’s greenhouse gas emissions, the state is working to get 1.5 million ZEVs, such as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, on California roads by 2025.

State initiatives to support adoption of these vehicles include the California Energy Commission investing in an initial network of 100 public hydrogen stations across California, which will help make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles a practical option for consumers.

“The Energy Commission is committed to investing in a network of conveniently-located refueling stations to support the fuel cell electric cars that are on the road now and to encourage more consumers to consider zero-emission options,” said Energy Commissioner Janea A. Scott.

The Energy Commission has funded 54 hydrogen stations, with 27 now open. Another seven stations are proposed for funding, pending Energy Commission approval. The public-private effort to build a network on this scale is the first of its kind in the world.

Fuel cell cars run upwards of 300 miles on a full tank, about the same distance as gasoline-fueled cars. It also takes roughly the same amount of time to fill the tank for both types of vehicles – three to five minutes.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan famously removed solar panels from the White House roof, capping a misguided energy policy that severely slashed investment in renewable energy. Thirty-one years later, President Trump has committed a more consequential mistake by rejecting the Paris climate accord. But the story of how solar energy survived and thrived after Reagan holds an encouraging lesson for us.

After Reagan, states such as California stepped up and invested heavily in solar research, development and market incentives. Despite being slowed by a reduction in federal support, the progress over time was dramatic. Since Reagan’s election, the price of solar panels has fallen by 99 percent. Last year, solar energy was the single largest source of new electricity generation added to our nation’s electric grid, contributing about 40 percent of the total. Solar energy provides jobs for 260,000 people in America, compared to just 65,000 by the coal mining industry. Wind energy, which followed a similar trajectory, now employs more than 100,000 U.S. workers.

Bold leadership to combat climate change in the United States will not come from Washington, D.C., but from a combination of state and local efforts. But for these efforts to succeed, one falsehood must be debunked immediately.

While a convenient myth for the fossil-fuel industry, this is nonsense. To begin with, in the interest of national security, the military itself has become a national leader in adopting renewable energy. The U.S. Navy, for example, is quickly moving toward its goal of using 50 percent renewable energy by 2020.

In California, which has installed more clean energy than any other state, there have been no threats to the reliability of the electric grid caused by renewables. Instead, the three biggest threats to our grid over the last 20 years came from market manipulation (Enron et al, during the 2001 energy crisis), a nuclear plant failure (San Onofre, 2012) and the largest natural gas leak in history (Aliso Canyon gas storage facility, 2015). Rather than create these emergencies, renewable energy was part of the solution and continued to operate reliably and prevented these events from becoming worse.

Almost two-thirds of the new electric generation capacity added to the grid in the United States over the last two years has come from wind and solar. From a reliability perspective, this is a positive development. In August 2011, when a heat wave in Texas shut down 20 natural gas plants, it was wind power that kept the electric grid operator from having to black out areas of the state. In Iowa, wind power now provides 37 percent of the state’s electricity with no reduction in reliability.

What happens when the wind doesn’t blow, or the sun doesn’t shine? To answer that question, one needs to examine the many countries that have more renewable energy than we do. Wind and solar contribute a share 2.5 times larger in Germany’s electricity mix (18.2 percent in 2016) than they do in the United States (6.9 percent). Germany produced 82 percent of its electricity from renewables for a period of several days in May. Denmark gets 100 percent of its electricity from renewables on many days of the year. Yet both nations have electric grids that are 10 times more reliable than America’s. Germany and Denmark average 23 and 24 minutes of customer outages per year respectively, while the United States averages 240 minutes per year.

These electric grids share several features that create stability. They have a diverse mix of renewables — onshore wind, offshore wind, photovoltaic and solar thermal power, geothermal power, hydropower and energy storage, mainly in the form of water pumped behind a dam. The European grid is a regional grid, and the sun is almost always shining, or the wind blowing, or water flowing, somewhere in Europe. Countries like Germany and Denmark also pay a lot of attention to weather forecasting, so that they can accurately predict and plan for how much solar and wind power they will generate. And they have electrified more of their economy than we have, including much of the rail network.

These are the defining qualities of the clean electric grid of the future. Clean energy is good both for the grid and the bottom line. That’s why the private sector here at home is now helping make it happen. Google, Walmart, General Motors, Facebook and Apple have all committed to using 100 percent renewable energy.

If the Trump administration does indeed seek to roll back state and local renewable energy policies on grounds that it jeopardizes the electric grid, then it would constitute yet another historic mistake. Rather than representing a threat to our electric grid, renewable energy is its future.

David Hochschild is a commissioner with the California Energy Commission, the state’s primary energy policy and planning agency. David Olsen is a member of the California Independent System Operator Board of Governors, which runs the state’s electric grid.

Time invested in long-term energy efficiency planning is paying off for one Central Valley school district.

Clovis Unified School District, located northeast of Fresno, created an energy conservation and efficiency program in 2008. The program’s goals were to maintain comfort and safety at school facilities, eliminate energy waste, and save on utility costs.

With such goals in mind, the district applied in 2014 to receive Clean Energy Jobs Act Program (Proposition 39) funds to help eliminate energy waste and increase energy efficiency. The district used its $3.3 million grant at 14 of the district’s 42 K-12 schools. Projects included replacing interior and exterior lighting, replacing heating and air conditioning units, and installing energy efficient pool pumps.

The Proposition 39 K-12 Program, which the California Energy Commission administers, helps schools improve energy efficiency and expand clean energy generation at schools. It is a voter-approved initiative that adjusted the corporate income tax code and allocated revenues to school districts for energy improvements to facilities.

Stuart Ogren, who is the energy management coordinator for Clovis Unified, believes energy management helps the district keep energy costs stable even while the district has added new schools. The measures installed with Proposition 39 funds are estimated to save the district nearly $300,000 a year in utility costs.

“What it allows us to do is put the money back to the students and programs for the students. And, that is where it’s most important,” said Ogren.

Clovis Unified is working to make its campuses more environmentally friendly and save money by using efficiency dollars provided by local utilities and the state. The district, which is eligible for another $5.5 million in Proposition 39 funds, intends to submit plans for those dollars before the program’s August 2017 deadline.

A connection made at a California Energy Commission research and development forum led to a grant recipient being selected by a state agency to monitor energy and water savings on California farms.

Their paths crossed during the Energy Commission’s inaugural Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Symposium in 2015. The event gave the public, industry and other stakeholders an opportunity to learn about innovative clean energy research projects funded through the EPIC program.

Among the many attendees were members of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), and among the presenters was San Mateo-based PowWow Energy. PowWow, in collaboration with the University of California, Davis and UC Santa Barbara, received a $2.2 million grant that year to develop a high-tech water monitoring and management system.

During his symposium presentation, PowWow CEO Olivier Jerphagnon explained how its easily deployable system collects water pump information from existing smart meters and how sensors detect plant health, soil moisture and leaks to help farmers optimize irrigation schedules without diminishing yields.

“It takes a great deal of electricity to pump water for irrigation,” said Jerphagnon. “Inefficient use of water equals a loss in food production and a waste of electricity.”

About a year after the symposium, the CDFA – through a competitive selection process – chose PowWow to monitor water and energy savings for a number of farm operations receiving State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) funds. SWEEP is a CDFA program that provides financial incentives to farmers to implement irrigation practices that save water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

During the two-year contract, PowWow will monitor changes in energy and water usage at those farms and validate greenhouse gas, energy and water reductions.

“These public-private partnerships are important, and we see such partnerships being successful in other sectors in California and throughout the world,” said Carolyn Cook, a CDFA senior environmental scientist.

The EPIC program, which was established in 2011, invests more than $120 million annually for technologies and concepts that help California meet its energy and climate goals.

Can wind power be a complement to the variability of solar power for a state like California that seeks a cleaner energy future and grid reliability?

Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, thinks so.

In a May 31 talk at the California Energy Commission, Kiernan gave his assessment about how wind power can benefit the state’s renewable energy goals, one of which is to generate half of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

“You cannot do much with solar without exacerbating the duck curve,” said Kiernan.

In referencing the duck curve, Kiernan was referring to a well-known graphic in the energy industry whose curved shape resembles a duck and whose path reveals the effect that solar and wind energy have on daily demand on utility electricity and the grid.

As more solar energy comes online it is expected to create an oversupply of solar during daytime hours, when electricity demand is low.

Demand begins to rise after people get home for work and turn on air conditioners, lights and appliances. This coincides with a decline in solar. The increased demand and plunge in solar creates a problem for the grid as it relies on a consistent supply of energy to avoid blackouts and energy cascades.

Bringing wind into the mix can mollify the daily and seasonal variability of solar energy, Kiernan said.

In Colorado, the sun shines the least during winter and spring but it is also the windiest time of year.

Wind also can be a variable energy source since it does not blow consistently. But it is rare for a wind farm to totally shut down because there is usually wind blowing in at least one portion of the site.

Kiernan said the evolution of wind technology will make wind become more attractive as an energy source. Wind turbines are getting larger and taller, and are producing more power per turbine.

In 2000, the average rotor width of a turbine was 49 meters. In 2015, that size had increased to 102 meters. The turbine height also increased from 58 meters in 2000 to 82 meters in 2015. Taller turbines allow wind energy to be accessed in areas previously not considered as conducive to wind energy, especially in Midwest states, Kiernan said.

California ranks fourth in the United States in installed wind power capacity after Oklahoma recently surpassed it for the third spot. Texas leads the nation with 21,044 megawatts (MW) installed with Iowa second, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

California has 5,656 MW of wind capacity installed. In 2015, wind provided about 6 percent of in-state electricity generation, double the in-state amount produced in 2000.

Energize California will serve as the coordinating organization for the region’s clean energy sector and will bring together industry leaders to support entrepreneurs and new technologies in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange counties.

“You never know where the next great clean energy idea will come from,” said Energy Commission Chair Robert Weisenmiller, “but having a centralized program like this where innovators can easily network with academia, industry, business and professional development resources, greatly enhances the chances of that happening there.”

“Energy entrepreneurs have struggled to locate and connect with the resources and networks needed to commercialize their products,” said Amanda Sabicer, LACI vice president of Energize California.

Energize California and its partnering organizations will also identify energy needs and help funnel early-stage energy technology solutions into the local region and especially into disadvantaged communities.

LACI received a $5 million grant last year through the Energy Commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge program, which supports innovations and strategies that advance clean energy technologies.

Last month, five electric buses hit the streets in economically disadvantaged communities throughout the city of Gardena as part of a project that will improve local air quality, provide workforce development and help grow the state’s green economy.

The buses are quiet, so quiet that recorded messages now indicate their movements for the visually impaired. But they have oomph, so much so that drivers must be reminded to accelerate with care and tell passengers to hold on tight during departures.

In 2016, Gardena’s public transit agency, GTrans, took the five buses from its fleet of aging hybrid gasoline-electric buses, stripped them down to the frame and rebuilt them with clean zero-emissions, battery-electric propulsion systems. The new buses also include energy efficiency upgrades such as LED lighting and ultraviolet reflective windows for heat reduction.

Conversion of the buses was made possible by a $2.7 million grant to GTrans from the California Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP), which to date has invested more than $748 million to support advancements in alternative, renewable fuels and the vehicles powered by them. Other project partners include Complete Coach Works, CALSTART and the Southern California Regional Transit Training Consortium.

“The California Energy Commission is pleased to support GTrans’ work to provide the diverse and disadvantaged communities it serves with increased public access to advanced, clean transportation,” said Energy Commissioner Janea A. Scott.

“GTrans’ partnership with Complete Coach Works to retrofit buses with zero-emissions technology helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality and provides a pathway to clean-transportation jobs throughout the region.”

The current pilot project has provided local workforce development for a diverse crew of employees who built the buses. It also provides employment for workers needed to drive the buses and maintain them.

Complete Coach Works’ diverse and highly trained workforce retrofitted the buses at its facility in Riverside. Adding the service of remanufacturing transit buses with Zero Emission Propulsion System technology has enabled Complete Coach Works to add more than 50 employees. The facility takes pride in employing people from various ethnicities and backgrounds.

GTrans aims to reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions by 99 percent in the next six years by converting 20 percent of its fleet to all-electric propulsion, and the rest to run on compressed natural gas. This test run will help determine if it is feasible for GTrans to convert additional buses to electric from its existing fleet, rather than buy new vehicles.

It will also lay the groundwork for other transit agencies across the country looking for green transportation options.

Long noted for suntanned hills decorated with shiny wind turbines, the landscape at Altamont Pass is changing. A new project will replace hundreds of aging turbines with less than two dozen state-of-the-art ones, helping to preserve open space.

That project, called Golden Hills North, is installing new turbines that will generate more power and reduce visual impacts. NextEra Energy has an agreement to sell electricity from the project, which is located east of the Bay Area, to Sonoma Clean Power.

“The project is yet another example of how California is leading the way to a clean energy future,” said California Energy Commissioner David Hochschild at a May 24 groundbreaking ceremony. “Replacing some of the earliest wind technology with modern, efficient turbines, and allowing an opportunity for a public utility like Sonoma Clean Power to invest directly in clean energy for its citizens helps both reduce the cost of electricity and the impact of facilities like this one on our environment.”

One of the wind turbines at Altamont Pass

At the project, 283 turbines, some of which are 30 years old, will be replaced with just 20. The project will have the capacity to produce 46 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 13,500 homes.

In California, the vast majority of wind generating capacity and output are located in three regions: the Altamont Pass between Livermore in Alameda Country and Tracy in Contra Costa County, the San Gorgonio Pass near Palm Springs in Riverside County and Tehachapi Pass near Bakersfield in Kern County.

California is committed to taking action against climate change. The state has a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. One of the steps taken to achieve the goal is increasing the use of renewable energy.

Senate Bill 350 calls for California to generate half of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The state is currently ahead of the pace needed to reach that goal, with 27 percent of its electrical retail sales coming from renewable energy in 2016.

California is a national leader in the wind industry, ranking fourth in the nation for wind power installations and having at least 12 wind-related manufacturing facilities, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

Thirteen mobile, solar-powered charging units for electric vehicles are being deployed in disadvantaged, rural communities throughout Fresno County, making plug-in electric vehicles a more viable option for those who live and work in this underserved area of the state.

Increased access to chargers supports efforts to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the San Joaquin Valley, which has some of the worst air quality in the nation. The project also helps California reach its aim of getting 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on the road by 2025.

Deployment of the charging stations is the result of a partnership between CALSTART, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, Fresno County Rural Transit Agency and Caltrans.

The California Energy Commission supported the project through a $1.2 million grant to CALSTART that helped establish the San Joaquin Transportation Center, which helped develop plans to deploy the chargers.

“The Energy Commission is proud to be a partner in this and ongoing efforts to help the San Joaquin Valley attain its air quality goals by accelerating the use of zero-emission vehicles and clean fuels,” said Energy Commissioner Janea A. Scott, who attended a May 24 unveiling event for the project in Fowler.

The innovative chargers, built by Envision Solar, do not require access to the electrical grid. They come ready to charge up to three vehicles at a time, and can easily be moved to another location to increase public access. The units also include battery storage, meaning they can be used night or day.

The Energy Commission grant to establish the San Joaquin Transportation Center was awarded through the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP), which has invested more than $748 million to date to support advancements in alternative, renewable fuels and the vehicles powered by them.

The center works to speed deployment of lower emission vehicles and help improve air quality in the San Joaquin Valley by making a variety of resources available to local residents, businesses, governments and others.

The Energy Commission has also made numerous other investments to resolve barriers to adoption of ZEVs and clean fuels in the San Joaquin Valley.

]]>https://btceuro.net/2017/05/25/mobile-solar-electric-vehicle-chargers-deployed-in-rural-fresno-county/feed/0Energy Commissioner Likens End of Apartheid to Embrace of Renewables in TEDx Talkhttps://btceuro.net/2017/05/23/energy-commissioner-likens-end-of-apartheid-to-embrace-of-renewables-in-tedx-talk/
https://btceuro.net/2017/05/23/energy-commissioner-likens-end-of-apartheid-to-embrace-of-renewables-in-tedx-talk/#respondTue, 23 May 2017 17:47:00 +0000

As a 22-year-old in the 1990s, California Energy Commissioner David Hochschild decided to join his father on a trip to South Africa. The country was in the throes of apartheid at the time.

The trip proved foundational to Hochschild, who likens South Africa’s evolution away from apartheid to the United States’ transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

On April 2 Commissioner Hochschild appeared as part of TEDx Palo Alto Identity where he talked about his experience in South Africa and with renewable energy in California: